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Fresh Tomato Soup with Seared Eggplant Sandwiches

This dish shows how even old standbys can sometimes be reworked so
they become vivid and fresh again. Tomato soup and old-fashioned
eggplant Parmesan are too predictable. But an open-faced sandwich of
eggplant slices with pesto and mozzarella -- that would get me to sit
up and pay attention. And what if we serve it in a rich tomato broth
jazzed up with some garlic and onions? The soup tastes wonderful and
the black stripe of eggplant against the brilliant red soup attracts
the eye. Where did this dish come from? Not any one place, but bits
and pieces of the puzzle are assembled from all over Italy.

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

about 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped into 1/4-inch dice
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 pounds ripe plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
1 beautiful eggplant (about 10 ounces), sliced 1/2 inch thick into 8
slices2 cups water
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil, plus 4 leaves for garnish
1/4 cup pesto
four 1/4-inch-thick slices fresh mozzarella (about 2 ounces)
four 1/2-inch-thick slices rustic bread, about the same size as the
eggplant slices

Preparation:

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium
heat. Add the onions and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook
until tender, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes and sugar, lower the
heat and cook for 25 minutes.

While the tomatoes are cooking, season 8 eggplant slices with salt and
pepper. (If you have more than 8 slices, set the remainder aside for
another use or discard.) Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a
large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the eggplant slices and
sear on each side until golden brown and cooked through. Remove from
the heat and let cool.

Add the water to the tomatoes and bring to a boil, then lower the heat
to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Purée in a blender and strain
through a fine sieve. Return the tomato soup to the pot, add the
chopped basil and simmer for 5 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Spread the eggplant slices with the pesto. Put a slice of mozzarella
on 4 of the slices. Top with the remaining 4 eggplant slices, pesto
side down, to make "sandwiches."

Brush the bread with about 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and place on
a small baking sheet. Toast in the oven until golden brown. Top each
slice with an eggplant sandwich and continue heating until the cheese
begins to melt.

While the sandwiches are heating, reheat the tomato broth.

Place an eggplant sandwich in the bottom of each warm bowl. Pour the
tomato broth around the sandwiches. Drizzle with olive oil, garnish
with the basil leaves and serve immediately.

From In the Hands of a Chef by Jody Adams and Ken Rivard. Copyright
2002. All rights reserved. HarperCollins Publishers.

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